In this lecture, the author presents an integrated view of the development of oil fields in deep and ultradeep waters, based on his experience of more than 20 years as a technical leader in this area.
A didatical approach is used, discussing the desired and necessary information and technical analysis for the approval in each project gate: opportunity identification; conceptual design; basic design; execution; operation.
The presentation starts discussing the data acquisition plan and the value of additional
information. Then, several issues are addressed, such as: uncertainties or insecurities; value of flexibility and robustness; how to optimize recovery factor and NPV; gas management; CO2 capture and use for EOR; metrics for deepwater field development, among others.
Throughout the lecture, the author presents several examples of his 10-year experience as the technical leader of the development of the Brazilian pre-salt fields in ultradeep water, detaching the importance of multidisciplinary teams to maximize the final recovery and the project value.